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At the age of five, Sonya Kate Childers knew she wanted to become a writer. Through a merchant-sponsored contest her short stories were printed in the local newspaper. The small town girl accepted her first major taste of fame clad in a hideous plaid jumper and large toothless grin. It wasn't until Sonya saw her first "by-line" in print she knew what her destiny would be. However, if you had told her then that she would be taking pictures with Gene Hackman, Steve Azar, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, appear on PrimeTime Live with Jay Schadler or attend fabulous parties with Kathryn Falk, her reply would have been, "You're Crazy!"
Sonya Kate Childers, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in November of 1966. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Missouri. Growing up, Sonya enjoyed her modest surroundings in a quaint Mid-Western farming community that ran parallel with the Mississippi River. Realizing that something special lay just on the other side of the hills that encompassed her life, Sonya grew discontent. The young girl wanted to experience everything the world had to offer.
After graduation, Sonya enrolled at the University of Missouri. Writing contests she had won and scholarships paid for most of her first year. Sonya was one of the universities first freshmen chosen for an internship program. This was an accolade normally reserved for college seniors. However, the college writing classes were tough and the professors were often too critical and almost mechanical in their teachings. Being under the belief that a true writer writes from the heart, not merely from someone else's personal objectives Sonya became increasingly disillusioned and quickly lost respect and interest in school.
Her family problems mounted while her college future and home life ceased to exist. To survive Sonya cut classes and took a modest job at the Rural Sociology Department, later dropping out of college for lack of attendance and poor grades.
Armed with $35 and a new, tougher attitude, Sonya headed west for the new, unfamiliar ground of Kansas City. After long bus rides through some of the roughest parts of the city and a few white lies later, she landed her first job as a legal secretary. For the next six months, Sonya slept on the basement floor of a friend's home until she saved enough money to buy a car and rent a modest apartment. The legal secretarial job proved to be successful as Sonya quickly moved up the ranks finally landing a job with Shook, Hardy & Bacon.
In the spring of 1987, Sonya met her husband Bert. He and their two children have been Sonya's constant support and anchor through some very rough times. Sonya suffers from a variety of debilitating illnesses: Lupus, Anti-Phospholipid Disorder, Raynaud's Disease and Fibromyalgia. In 2000, Sonya suffered a stroke. The doctors told Sonya she had seven "good" years left. She didn't ask them to elaborate on what exactly "seven good years" meant. Today the author, wife, and mother keeps plugging along. Sonya has had to take steroids combined with twenty-five different medications for many years, resulting in its own toll on her body and organs.
In Sonya's limited spare time, say the word, "beach" and she is there. She and her family frequent Galveston, Texas. Sonya calls it, "America's undiscovered gem" or "God's country." "I feel more at home down in Texas than I've felt anywhere in my life," Sonya proclaims. "There is a peace at the ocean you can't find anywhere else."
Since Sonya shares a similar illness, her favorite charity is St. Jude's Children's Hospital. "I know what those poor kids suffer through daily because I endure the same things. That's why it is my wish to raise a substantial amount of money in order to help the children who have suffered too much. I've donated to St. Jude in the past, but never on this grand a scale." Therefore Sonya has pledged a dollar per every Tides of Time book sold through her website to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. She is currently working with country recording artist Steve Azar. Azar and his family have also been lifelong donators to St. Jude. When approached with the project, Steve was enthusiastic and vowed to do whatever he could to help. Not too bad for two kids that grew up along the same river, all those miles apart. Steve and his mother Virgie have been constant reminders that good people do exist. Sonya's book is dedicated to them.
The Childers family is also active in the SOS America charity headed by Kathryn Falk, CEO of Romantic Times magazine, a nonprofit charity supported by American publishers, readers, and authors. The charity's mission is to ship letters and "shoe boxes" filled with supplies and reading materials to our troops in Iraq and in military hospitals. SOS also responds to emergency requests for equipment -- bullet proof vests, two-way radios, and night binoculars. Another important aspect of their mission is to provide aid and encouragement to wounded soldiers arriving from Iraq.
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